Michael ten Hompel explains logistics to Transport Minister Scheuer

It was time

Martin Schrüfer, 09.09.2019, 11:00

Michael ten Hompel explains logistics to Transport Minister Scheuer

Prof. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, presented a pioneering logistics concept at the launch of the Logistics 2030 innovation program of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in Berlin on 4 September: It is designed to help Germany achieve market leadership in a platform economy.

Discussion panel (from left to right): Prof. Michael ten Hompel (Managing Director, Fraunhofer IML), Dominik Fürste (Chief Information Officer, TX Logistik AG), moderator Dr. Antje Grobe (company management, Dialog Basis), Steffen Bilger MdB (Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Federal Government Coordinator for Freight Transport and Logistics), Dr. Rainer Wend (Executive Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Management, Deutsche Post DHL Group). © wuermser.communications

Digitalization and artificial intelligence will turn previous business models completely upside down. The interplay of platforms, artificial intelligence and interacting systems is creating a world in which data must be communicated across all borders. In order for German companies to be competitive in this emerging platform economy, the course must be set now - and logistics will become a key sector in this process. This was emphasized by ten Hompel on 4 September in Berlin. "The potential for the use of artificial intelligence in logistics is enormous and logistics will be the first industry in which AI processes will become established on a massive scale. Whoever controls the world's logistics chains controls the world's economy," said ten Hompel.

"In the private customer sector (B2C), the opportunity has been missed. Platforms such as Amazon, Uber or Alibaba have long since taken over macroeconomic business and logistics processes as monopolists. The logistics market leadership in the B2B platform sector is only just being decided. The winners will be digital platforms and AI algorithms, which will permeate the entire logistics sector and thus significant parts of the economy. A Silicon Valley of B2B competition is emerging, the Silicon Economy," ten Hompel continues. In a keynote speech at the presentation of the innovation program by Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, on 4 September at the BMVI in Berlin, ten Hompel presented what this Silicon Economy could look like in concrete terms and what steps are now necessary to implement it. This also included specific developments by the Fraunhofer IML, in which various key technologies have already been implemented.

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